In short: If you want a challenging marathon in one of the most beautiful places in the UK, with supportive other runners, marshals and spectators this is the race for you. I'll be back next year.Date of review: October 6, 2008

In short: A Monster 'Tastic MarathonIn full: My second time at Loch Ness. Its certainly easier when you know what to expect of the terrain!

A great race overall with fantastic organisation. The trip to the start involves a convoy of coaches with Harley Davidson motorcycle outriders clearing the road ahead, every coach company in the Highlands must be employed on this race. The trip all ran smoothly leaving time for toilet queuing / changing and a warming tea at the start.

Start is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by glorious countryside, great run down to the lochside, a few short sharp uphills, then on to the dreaded hill at 17.5 to 20, once over that its plain sailing into Inverness for the last 6 miles. Great crowds and support at Dores, and before that a great touch was some locals who had attached a speaker to their farm gate and were blasting out Scottish music and cheering the runners.

A very nice medal and a very very generous goody bag, my only (very insignificant) fault of which I could say is there is so much in it (its sooooo heavy!) its like the last thing you want to carry when you have ran 26 miles! But I soon passed it on to my support to carry! Two tins of soup and two jars of pickle, a choc muffin, a banana, a t-shirt, a bottle of water and two bottles of lucozade sport. A minor suggestion, could we have a small bar of choc instead of two tins of soup? This comes from the sponsors I suppose, but something sugary and edible straight away would be better than something you have to carry home to cook. Some Canadians in the same b+b as me gave all the food from their goody bag to the landlord as they could not take it on the plane home, which I thought was a bit of a shame. But hey, I'm not complaining at all, the last (half) mara I did was advertised as having a goody bag and we got nothing at all, so this was an abundance of goodies!!

Overall a fantastic and highly recommended, well organised, friendly Scottish race. A must do event for a taste of the Highlands.Date of review: October 6, 2008

In short: Fantastic race - defintely worth the journey. In full: My 3rd marathon after London & Dublin and the most enjoyable. From the fantastic organisation, to the amazing scenery, very friendly people and excellent goody bag & post race meal & entertainiment. There are a few tough moments, but manageable with a bit of hill training in the build up. The weather was perfect & I got a p.b. What more could you ask for in a marathon??!!!!Date of review: October 6, 2008

In short: Do it!In full: The organisation was flawless, getting gun-time and position by text immediately afterwards was a nice surprise and how did they do that thing with the weather?!!

My entire 48hour visit to Inverness was wonderful and though it's not exactly on everyone's doorstep, I'd recommend this race to anyone looking for an alternative to the more crowded city marathons. Date of review: October 6, 2008

In short: Excellent Race - possible the friendliest marathon in the UKIn full: I did this marathon on a whim, and was not sure whether or not I would drop out as the field size was a lot smaller than most other marathons I have ran. I am glad I didn't.

The expo, albeit small, was well organised with friendly staff and great food and entertainment at the pasta party. On race day, the transfer to the start area was very well organised, as was the parking in and around the finish area (free on a Sunday, though 10 minutes of extra pain could have been avoided if it was clearer what residential streets were closing).

The race itself was totally flawless. The started runners were gee-ed up by a pipe band and a pretty cool helicopter 'fly-past' by the race film crew. The course itself was undualating, but not tricky. The first 15 miles can be ran fairly quick to save for the few of minutes that you will inevitably loose on miles 16-19. The fact that I managed a 15 minute PB on this course with less training than my previous marathon suggests that the majority of the undulation actually decreases the pain in your legs. The profile is actually downhill for the first 4 miles, sharp uphill for a mile downhill for another 4 miles, pancake flat for 7 miles, sharp uphill for 3 and downhill for the last 6 (what comes up must come down). With typical Highland weather in the autumn, this would have been a more testing run than what it was but it was perfect.

Did I mention the top-notch goody bag with lots of nice Baxters food, cracking medal, and Saltire flag.............. Date of review: October 6, 2008

In short: A very well organised run through glorious scenery.In full: Once again, this was a well organised event through beautiful surroundings and finishing in a small stadium, where everything you needed to recover was readily on hand, including a great goody bag. The course has a few hills to test the legs, but it just makes finishing all the more satisfying. The organisers, sponsors and volunteers should all be very proud of themselves.Date of review: October 5, 2008

In short: brilliantIn full: This was my 1st marathon and what an experiance, great organisation and buietifull scenery. Hillier than i thought but that made it a better feeling, loved it all and well worth the trip from torquay, see you next year.Date of review: December 10, 2007